The present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling the flow of a conductive fluid over a surface, and more particularly to a system and method that uses magnetic and electric fields to create Lorentz forces that affect the flow of a conductive fluid in a controlled manner near the boundary layer of a control tile, or a matrix of control tiles, immersed in the conductive fluid.
Conductive fluids naturally occur in many different settings. Note, that for purposes of this application, the term "fluid" is used in its broad scientific sense to connote a liquid or a gas. Wherever such a conductive fluid is encountered, there is typically a need or desire to move a vessel or other object through the conductive fluid using a minimal amount of energy. One way to meet this need is to design such vessel or object so that the conductive fluid flows over the surface thereof with a minimal amount of drag.
Perhaps the most common example of a conductive fluid is sea water, which covers a significant percentage of the earth's surface. Ocean-going vessels traveling through sea water, e.g., ships or submarines, must exert significant amounts of energy in order to successfully navigate through the sea water at a suitable speed. Hence, much attention has been directed over the years to optimally design the hull or shape of an ocean-going vessel in order reduce the drag (friction) the fluid encounters as it passes over the surface of the vessel. Despite such efforts, however, there remains a continual need to further reduce the drag encountered by conductive fluids passing over the surface of such vessels to thereby make the movement of such vessels through the fluid more efficient.
As is known in the art, a viscous fluid, and a body completely immersed in the fluid, form a boundary layer at the body's surface when the fluid and the body move relative to each other. That is, the layer of fluid in contact with the body is essentially at rest, while in an area removed from the body, the fluid is moving at its free-stream velocity. The region between the body and that area is known as a boundary layer. Where the fluid is a conductive fluid, electromagnetic forces may be introduced into the boundary layer in an attempt to alter the boundary layer characteristics. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,421.
There remains a need, however, to more favorably alter the characteristics of the boundary layer than has heretofore been achieved. That is, there remains a need to optimally alter or affect the boundary characteristics in a way that most significantly reduces or otherwise alters the drag of the fluid as it passes over the body.